The problem was, she didn’t know where Moorcock was. She believed she could figure it out. The place had such an odd name, there must be people who were familiar with it—
A hand hooked her arm and whirled her around. A furious Kit confronted her. His hat was on his head but with the crown slightly bashed in as if someone had stepped on it and he had pushed it out. He had his rolled oilskin slung over one shoulder. “What are you doing? Do you know I had to leave most of my winnings to keep everyone happy after you cleared the table?”
“Tell me about Old John. I want to know everything.”
He looked heavenward as if begging for patience and then shook his head and answered, “I told you what I know.”
“How tall is he? What are his facial features? What is his last name?”
“His last name,” Kit repeated as if she had asked the impossible. “I don’t recall him saying.”
“Please, Kit, this is important.Tryto remember.”
He frowned and snorted out his breath as if she had backed him into a corner. “Why is it so important to you?”
“I believe he is my father.”
Kit’s posture changed. He lost the defensiveness. “He can’t be your father.”
“Why not?”
“If you saw him, you would understand. He is a tough old codger. Rarely spoke about himself. In fact, I don’t think he even lived in Moorcock proper.”
“Had he been in the military?”
“I don’t know.” He shook his head with exasperation. “Elise, why do you think this man could be your sire?”
“The way he taught you to shuffle cards. He was very proud of that shuffle. He rarely shared it.”
“And you think that because of the way I shuffled that I have a connection with a man who has been declared dead. Perhaps he taught Old John the shuffle? Or a hundred other people? You need to be reasonable, Elise. A shuffle doesn’t mean your father is alive.”
“But no one knew for certain he was dead. He just disappeared. Can you not understand why I need to know?” She walked three steps away, stopped, looked back to him. “I must go to Moorcock.”
“No, you ‘must’ not,” he answered. “We are going to Ireland. All of this”—he circled his hand in the air to encompass not only the two of them but the crash, the days of travel—“is to take you to Ireland.”
“Ireland means nothing if my father is alive. Kit, I have to find out.”
“Fine.”He said the word like an epithet and then shook his head. “I can’t believe I just said that.”
“Said what?”
“Fine.I’m starting to sound like you.”
“Is that bad?” She wasn’t certain whether to be offended or not.
However, before he could answer, some villagers came out of the inn. They grumbled in their direction. One man put his hands on his hips as if warning them away from the establishment.
Kit took her arm and led her toward the barn for privacy. “Listen, Old John is a hardened gambler. He could never have sired a daughter like you.”
“My father was a hardened gambler. His name was John—and Kit, if he didn’t come back to my sisters and me, there must be a reason. Imustfind out.”
“You can’t traipse all over England alone. There are a hundred Tommys out there. You are lucky you have made it this far.” He held his breath as if there was more that he wanted to say, and then understood any lecture would be wasted. He let his air out with a huff of resignation. “Here is what we will do—I’m going to take you to Ireland. I willdeliver you as far as the doorstep of the family estate. I will then see what I can do about bringing Old John to you.”
His was a sensible offer, but not one she could accept. “Your plan seems a waste of time. We go here, we go there. Kit, if Old John is my father, he needs me. There is something wrong. He would not just disappear from our lives without a word. He’d never do that, not in his right mind. We must go to Moorcock.”
“Well, then, here is another problem. Moorcock is a thieves’ den. It isn’t the sort of place for a woman like you.”
She rested on his words a moment, and then thought of her laughing father, the man who had taught her games, took delight in how well she read, and had boasted he had daughters who could outshine the sun. “If what you say is true, he needs me more than ever.” She walked into the barn.
